Lots of punch at block party

Offense puts on smashing show

FOXBOROUGH - Smash-mouth football is back in New England, for one night at least.

In search of their best approach against the overmatched, sloppy Broncos, the Patriots quickly found that the simplest plan was the best: line up and run it right over them.

In a decisive beatdown, the Patriots finished with 257 rushing yards; they haven't had more since Dec. 22, 1985, when they rang up 281 against the Bengals at Sullivan Stadium. Craig James and Tony Collins were the lead backs that year, and they were running behind a line anchored by Pro Hall of Fame left guard John Hannah.

Surely, Hannah would have liked what he saw last night, as this was Hog-style football.

"Kicking [butt], taking names," said left guard Logan Mankins, who helped lead the nasty charge.

While the Broncos self-destructed in almost every way possible, through a combination of turnovers (5) and penalties (8), the Patriots made them pay by pummeling them with a hard-charging running attack that was at its best when running to the left side.

Sammy Morris had a career-high 138 yards on 16 carries by halftime. At that point, the Patriots led, 20-0, and had firmly established their physical dominance. Morris did not play in the second half because of a knee injury, but it hardly mattered.

Rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis took over, totaling 65 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown, while Kevin Faulk added 50 yards on four rushes.

Afterward, players talked about the embarrassment they experienced in San Diego Oct. 12, when they faced first and goal from the 1, and couldn't punch it in on four tries. They were determined not to be denied last night, converting two fourth-and-1 runs with a power package (three tight ends, one fullback, one running back) and one first-and-goal from the 1.

By night's end, the Patriots had blocked so well that on the final touchdown - a 1-yard run by Green-Ellis - lead fullback Heath Evans had no one to hit.

"Obviously, late in the game, I'm sure they were humiliated, like we were last week," Evans said. "We've been there. We understand that. Going through there, I didn't know what to do with myself. The O-line played it so well, he just walked in."

It wasn't just the line, although left tackle Matt Light, Mankins, center Dan Koppen, rotating right guards Billy Yates and Stephen Neal, and right tackle Mark LeVoir were bulldozers up front.

The Broncos were in a 3-4 defense for much of the first half - when the game was decided - but their smaller personnel didn't seem suited for that alignment. So the Patriots had success moving them and creating running lanes, with tight ends Benjamin Watson and David Thomas - and the lead-blocking Evans - also instrumental parts of the ground assault.

"There was a bunch of different styles, but all in all, there were a lot of guys covered up," Evans said. "When I take off, and I'm seeing specifically one guy to block - instead of two or three - that's a great feeling. There wasn't a lot of cleaning up; most of it I was just getting on my guy. That's because the guys were prying up holes up front.

"In this league, you definitely know it can be week to week. This was definitely one week where we were able to get in the groove early and it was just kind of a snowball effect and it keeps rolling.

"[Green-Ellis] comes in and finishes strong, Kevin is Kevin as always, and Sammy was running like a madman to start us off. When the O-line plays that way, things are very easy for us. Very easy."

Morris, whose decisive cuts make him a favorite of the linemen in front of him, was on the field for 24 of the Patriots' 33 first-half snaps (a total that includes a face mask penalty, which technically isn't a play). That he carried on 16 of them indicated the Patriots weren't hiding their intentions.

"We just got physically beat up," said Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams. "They just beat us, man to man. They just overpowered us."

While the Patriots have had success with a spread-them-out offense in the past, last night was more about tighter formations. Of the team's 33 first-half snaps, the Patriots had multiple tight ends for 20 of them. Evans, the lead fullback, was on for 11.

It was a punch-them-in-the-mouth approach, which they felt was needed after what they experienced in San Diego.

"Last week, we were down there four times in a row, and that was humiliating to any fullback in this league, any running back, any offensive line," Evans said. "When you get a chance to punch it in, and punch it in with force like we did, you love that."

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com